Panoraming tripod head



1949- c. w. PETERSQN 246519175 PANORAMING TRIPOD HEAD Filed Dec. 29, 1945 CHARLES W. PETERSON INVENTOR m7/ WY? Patented Feb. 8, 1949 U'N ITED STATES OFFICE V a ms-v Y BANQRAMING TRIPOD HEAD Charles W. Peterson, Rochester, N. Y., ass'ignor to Eastman Kodak Comp'anniRochestenN. Y., a-corporation of New :lersey .Applica'tion'Deceniber 29, 1945, Serial No. "637,853

head, the swiveling motions of which are 039- posed by a frictional drag means made up of felt-like washers pressed against smooth metal surfaces, which combination of parts possess the property that the force required to start the swiveling motion is less than the force required to make the parts move faster relative to one another.

.And yet another objectis to support themoving parts on two spacedbearing supportsso that the headlis Very rigid.

The novel ieatures that .I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in .the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both .as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following. description of specific embodim nts when .read in connection with the accompanying drawings .in which,

Fig. l .a side elevation .of a panoramingand tilting tripod head constructed in accordance with a preferredemhodiment of the presentinvention, v

;F.'ig. .2 is a top plan view of the tripod head shownin Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 .is a vertical sectional viewLtaken substantially .on line.33 of Fig. :1,

.Fig. .4 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of another embodiment of the tripod head, and

Fig. 5 is aseotion taken on line .5--5..of.F.ig.-3.

Like reference .characters refer to corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

Referring .to Figs. 1-3, wherein a,preferred-embodiment of the present invention isshown, the

present tripod head comprises a horizontal base plate it, to which .is,flxed,.or riveted, a vertical "bearing shaft 1 1. The lower end of 'theshaftis drilled out and threaded to -provide a ocket 112 for the reception of a conventional screw itound in :the top of alltripods, and for "theipurp'ose of fastening the head to atripod, not shown. The top of the base plate It is smooth, 'or preferably polished, and has a felt, :or felt-like, washer l3 engaging the same.

A lower u shaped'irame M has a reamed hole 1 5 in its cross-arm 'I'B which has a 's'lipfit with the enlarged bearing portion I! of the vertical shaft H to constitute the bearingfor the horizontal swiveling movement ofthe entire head. The twofacesof the cross-arm I6 are smooth, or polished, and-the top side is engagedby a fel-t, or afelt-like, Washer 18' which is forced there against by a metal compression 'washer 9. "The felt washer i8 and the compression washer l9 are held against rotation on shaft l=| by-having straight-sided holes therein engaging flats on the shaft, see Fig. 5. A variable frictional drag, or a complete clamping action, in the horizontal swiveling motion of the'head is efiected-by-a'vertical compression nut 26 threadedly engaginga threaded portion 21 of the shaft said nut directly engaging the compression washer I 9, or engaging an intermediate meta-1 washer 22 to prevent marringthe surface of the compression washer.

An upper U-shapedframe 23 is held in inverted nesting relation with the lower frame is by two aligned horizontal "bearing'shafts '24 and '25, "extending through the overlapping upstanding armsof the two frames toafford a vertical-swiveling motion of the camera attached to the head. The cross-arm 26 :of the upper frame includes a conventional "camera attaching screw arrangement which includes the screw "21 having "a small threaded end 25 adapted to engage the "tripod screw "socket found-inmost cameras. The screw '21 istthrea'dedin the cross-arm 26 for the "pur pose of adjusting the length of the screw above the top of the head, anda'small knurled .head '29 is .proVidedonthe end of the screw for manual manipulation thereof. .A large lojck nut '30 is also threaded onto the screw 21 *forfthepurpose of pulling the attached camera down tight.

against the cross-arm 26 after the threaded end "28 of the'screw has been'threadedintothesocket on the camera.

.An enlarged-portion 31 on the horizontal hearing shaft 25 is driven through a:boreinthe 1 .1 .standing arm '32 of the upper frame 23'unti1.a flange 33 thereon abuts the inner ,face of said arm. To'insure a nonwrotation relation between these two parts, the portion 31 is provided with serrations which cut into the walls of .the bore in the arm. The inner end of the portion 3i is smooth and finished to have a close slide fit with a bore in the upstanding arm 34 of the lower frame 54 so as to provide a bearing for the vertical swiveling motion of the head. Adjacent faces of the two upstanding arms 32, 34 are smooth, or polished, and disposed between the two isafelt, or. felt-like, washer 35. Engaging the other face of the upstanding arm 34, which is polished, is a felt, or felt-like, washer 36 backed up by a metal compression washer 31. These two last-mentioned washers are held against rotation on the shaft 25 by any suitable means, such as having non-circular holes engaging noncircular portions on the shaft 25, as shown in Fig. 5. Variable frictional drags, or a complete clamping action, in the vertical swiveling motion 'may be effected by means of a horizontal compression nut 35 engaging a threaded end of shaft 25.

The other pair of overlapping upstanding arms 39 and 4B of the two frames I4 and 23, respec- ":tively, are journaled on the horizontal bearing the head by means of a handle 43 screwed into asocket 44 in one corner of the upper frame 23.

I It will be noticed that the bore 4! is made deeper than the length of the finished end 42 of shaft 2550 as to permit the longitudinal movement of the latter incident to a clamping action being set up by rotation of nut 38. For purposes of excluding .dust and providing lubrication a felt washer 45 is placed on end 42 between the end of shaft 24 and the flange 33, and another washer 45 is placed on shaft 24 between the overlapping arms 39 and 40 of the two frames.

In order to add to the rigidity of the head as a whole, and to hold the shaft 24 in assembled position, the end 45 of the vertical bearing shaft H is finished and extends into a bore 41 in the horizontal bearing shaft 24 with a slide fit. This gives a bearing support for the vertical shaft H which is spaced from the bearing portion 11 thereof so that this shaft is supported at two spaced points and the rigidity of the head is thereicy-substantially increased.

.I have found that felt pressed against polished metal has the property that the force required tostart relative motion between the two is less than the force required to make it slide faster,

e. g. the amount of friction increases with the speed of sliding. This is just the kind of frictional drag that is needed in manually operated .panoraming tripod heads, and particularly for -motionpicturecameras, to make perfect nonjerky panorams, and the present tripod meets this important qualification ideally.

vThe job of assembling this tripod head is extremely simple as will be obvious from the following assembly technique. First of all, the vertical shaft H is inserted in plate Ill and staked,

or. riveted, thereto. Then, with the two frames l4 and 23 in nested relation and, with the felt washer 35 in place, the shaft 25 is driven into the bore in the upstanding arm 32 of the upper frame 23 and through the bore in the upstanding arm 34 of the lower frame It. Then the outer felt washer 36, metal compression washer 31 and compression nut 38 are put on the shaft 25. Next, after felt washer has been put in place, shaft 24 is slipped through the overlapping arms 39 and 40 of frames M and 23, respectively, and is slipped onto the end 42 of shaft 25. Now, after the felt washer l3 has been placed on vertical bearing shaft H, the shaft is inserted through the bore in the cross arm it of the lower frame M, with the felt washer l8, the metal compression washer l9 and the compression nut 20 in position to receive the end of the shaft. Then the shaft is pushed up until the end 6 thereof passes into bore 41 in the horizontal bearing shaft 24. This vertical shaft will be held in assembled relation so long as nut 25 engages th threaded portion 2! thereof.

In Fig. 4 I have shown another modification of my tripod head. This head differs from that first described primarily in the arrangement of the spaced bearing supports, and since the component parts of the two are essentially the same, the parts of the second embodiment will be designated by the same reference characters used in describmg the first insofar as they recur exactly the same, while those that differ slightly will be primed This embodiment differs from the preferred one primarily in that the horizontal bearing shaft 24 does not extend clear across the head, but only to the center thereof where it is engaged by the end 46 of the vertical screw H. The shaft 24' is staked to the upstanding arm 39 and has a reduced finished end extending through a bore in the upstanding arm 48' of frame 23. The horizontal bearing shaft 25' is staked, or riveted, to the upstanding armfll' of the upper frame 23' and includes an enlarged bearing portion 3i forming a bearing for the upstanding arm 34 of the frame I4. Another distinction in this second embodiment over the first is that the two metal compression washers and 23 lies outside of the upstanding arm 39 of' 7 frame 14, instead of inside thereof as in the first device, and that this arrangement produces a clamping action at the left side of the head as well as at the right when compression nut 38 is turned down. Accordingly, increased clamping action of the vertical swiveling motion with a given adjustment of the nut 38 is obtained with the second embodiment as compared with the first embodiment. The engagement between the two ends of the shafts II and 24"in the center of the head provides the double, spaced bearing supports for both the horizontal bearing shaft 24 and the vertical bearing shaft H, as in the first embodiment, for the purpose of making the head completely rigid. V

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be limited to the precise details and construction shown and described, but is intended to cover all modi- Having thus described my invention, what I claim new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A panoraming tripod head comprising a base which is adapted to be detachably connected to the top of a tripod; a vertical bearing shaft fixed to and extending a substantial distance from said base; a U-shaped lower frame having its cross arm rotatably engaging said shaft adjacent the base for horizontal rotation; a U-shaped upper frame disposed with its vertical arms in overlapping relation with those of the lower frame; a horizontal bearing shaft extending through one pair of overlapping arms and rotatable with respect to at least one of the arms; a second horizontal bearing shaft extending through the other pair of overlapping arms of the two frames in alignment with said first-mentioned horizontal bearing shaft, and fixed to one arm while rotatable with respect to the other; means on the cross arm of said upper frame for attaching a camera thereto; a handle fixed to the upper frame for controlling the movements of the head; means for frictionally restraining the combined horizontal rotation of the two frames about the vertical bearing shaft and a vertical rotation of the upper frame about the horizontal bearing shafts; the free end of said vertical bearing shaft being connected to a supporting member extending from one of the arms of the frames to render the head rigid against torque induced thereon by force applied to the handle to cause a desired rotation of the head.

2. A panoraming tripod head comprising a base which is adapted. to be detachably connected to the top of a tripod; a vertical bearing shaft fixed to and extending a substantial distance from said base; a U-shaped lower frame having its cross arm rotatably engaging said shaft adjacent the base for horizontal rotation; a U-shaped upper frame disposed with its vertical arms in overlapping relation with those of the lower frame; a horizontal bearing shaft extending through one pair of overlapping arms and rotatable with respect to at least one of the arms; a second horizontal bearing shaft extending through the other pair of overlapping arms of the two frames in alignment with said first-mentioned horizontal bearing shaft, and fixed to one arm while rotatable with respect to the other; means on the'cross arm of said upper frame for attaching a camera thereto; a handle fixed to the upper frame for controlling the movements of the head; means for frictionally restraining the combined horizontal rotation of the two frames about the vertical bearing shaft and a vertical rotation of the upper frame about the horizontal bearing shafts; said first-mentioned horizontal bearing shaft fixed to one of said arms and extending toward the center of said head, said shaft provided with a hole in alignment with said vertical bearing shaft; and the free end of said vertical bearing shaft extending into said hole with a close fit to render the head rigid.

3. A panoraming tripod head comprising a base which is adapted to be detachably connected to the top of a tripod; a vertical bearing shaft fixed to and extending a substantial distance above said base; a U-sh'aped lower frame having its cross arm rotatably engaging said shaft adjacent the base for horizontal rotation; a U-shaped upper frame disposed with its vertical arms in overlapping relation with those of the lower frame; a horizontal bearing shaft extending through one pair of said overlapped arms and fixed to one arm while rotatable with respect to the other, the end of said shaft extending to the outside of said head being threaded for the reception of a clamping nut, and the other end of said shaft extending toward the center of said head and being finished to constitute a bearing support; a second horizontal bearing shaft extending through the other pair of overlapping arms of the two frames in alignment with said first-mentioned horizontal shaft, and extending across said head and having its end provided with a bore adapted to slip onto the finished end of said other horizontal bearing shaft; said last-mentioned horizontal shaft provided with a bore in axial alignment with said vertical bearing shaft, and the end of said vertical shaft extending into said bore with a slip fit; means on the cross arm of said upper frame for attaching a camera thereto; a handle fixed to the upper frame member for controlling movements of the head; and means for frictionally restraining the combined horizontal rotation of the two frames about the vertical bearing shaft; and means, including said clamping nut, for frictionally restraining the vertical rotation of the upper frame about the horizontal bearing shafts.

CHARLES W. PETERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,211,895 Theiss Jan. 9, 1917 1,898,469 Tonsor Feb. 21, 1933 

